The Deal
by valbino
Summary: Karin found out the hard way that double crossing an Uchiha never added up to any good. AUish, Itachi/Karin. Incomplete.


AN: I read a so-so drabble on Tumblr and went "what if," and here we are. Not sure whether I'll stick rigidly within canon or not, but I'll be working on this pretty sporadically until I finish my ItaHina fic.

Structure for each chapter is as follows: Karin's report, scene, Itachi's reply. Timeline of scene may not be in chronological order with the letters. No guarantee of chapter length, width, or depth 8D

I hope you enjoy!

-Val

000

_Itachi:_

_I didn't know what you meant by "report on my little brother's activities" so here's what I've got._

_We've been going west for a couple of weeks now. I'm wondering if Sasuke's trying to head to Konoha, maybe, but he's been zigzagging around the map. Right now I would guess that we're near the southeast coast. Every so often we stop at an old lab of Orochimaru-sama's and pick something up. _

_Sometimes it's a person, i. e. Suigetsu._

_Sasuke's been stocking up on supplies, otherwise. Non-perishables and weapons, mostly. I think he's planning something long-term. Probably related to getting revenge._

_I also kept track of some other miscellaneous things:_

_60 counts of standing on top of things moodily._

_30 counts of, while standing on things moodily, shifting so the wind blew his hair out of his face._

_90 counts of stopping to piss._

_200 or so counts of being pestered by Suigetsu._

_I lost track of how many times he talked about vengeance, but I'm sure you can imagine._

_He eats twice a day, in case you were worried, by the way._

_He bought like, three tomatoes from the market the last time we stopped for supplies. Just three. I know. I was surprised, too. _

_So I guess, for the most part, Sasuke's "behavior" is pretty baseline._

_-Karin_

_PS – I have attached some files on the rest of Team Hebi_

000

This is how it began:

Karin had been given a radio and ordered to act as a lookout while Sasuke and the other two did some scouting. For what, she didn't know. Or care, really. The lack of eyecandy was a far more pressing matter.

Itachi Uchiha appeared, suddenly and silently. Karin could feel the chakra concentrated in his eyes as the hairs standing up on the back of her neck. _Sharingan._

He was the real thing, too, even if he was trying to minimize the amount of chakra he was emitting. Right down to his ponytail and eyelashes and cheekbones. _Interesting._

When her finger was almost ready to push the button on her earpiece, he raised a hand.

"Don't," he said.

So she didn't.

Instead, she crossed her arms. "Talk fast, Uchiha."

"No need. I've already caught you in my genjutsu."

(Itachi had had his suspicions, upon seeing her violently red hair in the photo an agent found, but her chakra was too similar to Naruto's to ignore.)

(So this was what undiluted Uzumaki chakra looked like.)

"Great." She glared at him. "So I'm standing on that rock, looking like an idiot, then."

He was silent.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Report on my little brother's activities."

"Interesting. But what do _I_ get for doing this?"

He hesitated. The neutral expression he wore dropped for a moment.

Karin had a feeling he was used to getting what he wanted. Probably an attitude borne of the whole _Uchiha_ thing.

(Sasuke was worse in that regard. Even if he was sort of..._irresistable.)_

She was more interested in his casting a genjutsu without her immediately noticing. That took some serious skill.

"In return...In return, I will remove Kabuto Yakushi from the picture," he said.

"Okay. I'm listening."

"Good."

And then he released the genjutsu. Her chakra snapped back into place, like the sting of a rubber band. Her fingertips were a few inches away from the radio collar. She let her hand drop.

So that had been Itachi's only alteration of the environment. _Subtle._ _Impressive._

There was a chakra cluster, dim, almost a pinprick, approaching from the south. She closed her eyes to focus.

"Is there a problem?"

"Shut up for a second," she muttered. She could feel the heat spreading across her face.

A few seconds later, the chakra-pinprick was distinct enough to recognize as three separate individuals. And they were moving at breakneck speed. And judging from the formation..._Sasuke._

She crossed her arms, glaring at him over the rims of her glasses. "They're about three hundred meters out. Make it quick."

"Once every two weeks," he said, "send a report via hawk to this location."

He handed her a slip of paper with a few scribbles of shorthand on it. Of course it would be in shorthand.

"...Right."

When she looked up again, he was gone. Only a few leaves, drifting gently to the ground, were disturbed in his passing.

Sasuke's chakra hit her like a sledgehammer soon after.

000

_Karin:_

_I would prefer if you kept your correspondance as brief as possible._

_For the sake of clarity, location and possible goals will suffice for now. While thorough, your report borders on too much information._

_Currently have target's location narrowed down to somewhere near the Fire-Sand border. Any intelligence on Orochimaru's abandoned labs in this region would be welcome. _

_I believe he may be seeking genetic material, judging from the state of some of the equipment in the one I investigated._

_-Itachi_

_PS – while appreciated, I already have procured the relevant intel on Team Hebi_


End file.
